Abyss Far Too Gone Sequel
by Zoya Shaf
Summary: "The Avengers will be too busy with their own deteriorating minds to do me or the cause any harm." A threat that the Avengers could never have dreamed up has arisen. The world as they know it is at stake and this time they're terribly outmatched. But even in the darkest of times there is always hope and the Avengers find their savior in someone they could never have imagined.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey Guys! As promised, the first chapter of the sequel! I'm trying to change my writing style because even though so many people liked Far Too Gone, I'm not too happy with it because I've done better. So I'm actually okay with this chapter but if you think the writing sounds weird or awkward please review and tell me. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. **

**Hope you all enjoy! **

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**_Abyss Prologue_**

Living up to its name as the city that never sleeps, the streets of Manhattan were crowded by cars and pedestrians. It was nearing midnight and lights still shone from the office windows of the skyscrapers that Manhattan was so famous for. An eerie chill hung heavy in the air but was unknown to the civilians and tourists, who were crawling around on the worn out streets. The silent screams that were bouncing from building to building were drowned out by the roars of the engines of taxis and cars, the neighs of horses, and the bubble of chatter from the populous. To the best of their knowledge it was just another night; another night to go to a bar and get wasted, another night to party with friends, another night to spend watching the night sky, another night to enjoy life. In the frenzy that was their life, they moved through the streets oblivious to the fact that the air was quivering with fear and anticipation and that the very moon that cast a dreamy glow on the city, was holding its breath. After all, how could they possibly know that not too far from them, on a hidden shore, the world's fate was about to be bargained for?

The said shore was a beach, hidden from the view of mortals; a place stuck in time and shrouded in mystery. According to the tales every tiny bit of sand was a dried up tear belonging to the gods. It was a place of purity, being that it was the place where the first child of the gods had fallen. It was a haven for those who were cast out and for those who had lost their way. Once it had been a glorious place, its sandy shores glistening colors of the rainbow in the day and the ghostly white in the night. Out crops of rocks popped up here and there, worn form centuries of the Antarctic waters crashing against them. Stories of the bravest heroes that world had known were engraved on the rocks and no matter how worn the rocks would get the engravings would never fade. Trees of all sorts cut off the beach from the concrete streets of Manhattan. Thousands walked by it every day and till date only one of them had seen the beach and wandered onto it.

Right now the haven was in turmoil. Even though the beach was cut off from everything else, it wasn't spared from the anxiety that had taken ahold of the city. The trees had stopped swaying and like everything else stood waiting, holding their breath. Hidden under the blanket of night, the sweet melodies of crickets and song birds that never rested could be heard, but now everything was still and silent.

Even through the sky was clear, the full moon shining brightly and making the sand glow white, the sea was wild. Tide upon tide clawed at the rocks and ate away at the sandy coast. Despite the grizzly attacks, its hunger went unsatisfied and the incoming tides increased. Despite the savage advances of the greenish blue waters, it was quite a picturesque scene and to an on looker it would have seemed that the beach was worrying about nothing. Not a soul could be found on the beach.

At least not at the moment.

For what could have been centuries the beach stood still, not knowing what awaited it. And then it came; a rumbling that made every tiny sand particle quiver. Sensing approaching danger the waters died down and waited for the spectacle about to take place. When the rumbling ended, nothing had changed other than the fact that the whole atmosphere had become cold; cold and unfeeling and stifling. The enemy that the beach had been waiting for had arrived, though he could not be seen. Now all that was left was to wait for his accomplice.

Another uneasy moment passed in wait and then he appeared. The air around the rock bearing the story of the All Father and his reign became to quiver and darken. In a few minutes a man had materialized next to the outcropping. His eyes, as black as a raven's feathers, scanned the horizon, looking for something. His long black hair flowed in the wind, which had picked up, and the moon highlighted his already fine features. With high cheekbones, a sharp jaw, a set of red lips, a small pointed nose, and devastatingly pale skin, he looked like a sculpture. He was tall in built, towering above six feet, his limbs long and his body lean and clad in black. Having spotted what he was looking for, the man jammed him hands into his pockets and strutted over to where the edge of the beach towards the biggest rock outcropping of them all.

Once he had reached there and had set himself down on the edge of the flattened rock top, he laughed: a rich, honey sweet and angelic sound.

"It's been a while," he said to the empty air, his voice flowing. Based on his dark looks, his voice was out of place; low and calm with an unrecognizable yet delightful accent. It seemed the voice of one who had seen many things and who had suffered great injustices, was wise and kind. Above all, it was misleading. The man present on the beach was anything but a victim of injustices. He had no heart or soul; he was an empty shell with only one purpose. The scar that stretched from behind his right earlobe to his collarbone was the only sign that his man was something more than the eye could see.

"Is the process going fine?" the bearer of the voice could not be seen and the voice, which seemed to come from the depths of hell, seemed to come from every direction.

"Never one for formalities, were you?" the man was in a gaming mood. It was a lovely night and he wanted to enjoy it.

"Olomo!" the voice threatened.

"Fine, fine, don't get your knickers in a twist. The process is coming along fine, but..."

"But?"

"We've seemed to have unearthed an obstacle," Olomo grinned out to the sea.

"What obstacle?"

"The Avengers. Heard of them? According to James they're something like…Earth's mightiest heroes, or something."

"The ones that defeated the Chitauri,"

"Are they really?" Olomo burst out laughing. "I was worried over nothing. When the Draugs kidnapped Tony Stark I thought that they would be a threat, but I guess not."

"This is not a matter to be taken lightly. The Chitauri were…"

"Foolish." Olomo cut the voice off. "The Chitauri and The Other were foolish. They trusted Loki, an idiotic boy who had no idea what to do. I am far more powerful and cunning than Loki and the Chitauri combined. You do not have to worry."

"He is your nephew and smarter than you give him credit for."

"We share no blood and I doubt that."

"You invited him to join you in Tokyo, did you not?"

Olomo groaned.

"For an all-powerful being you really are daft, aren't you?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself," the voice growled.

"You can't do anything to me. You need me," a pause in which Olomo picked up a shell that was lying on the ground nearby. Twirling the shell in his hand, he spoke, "I'm not in Tokyo, am I? I'm here in Manhattan. James told me that in a week the Avengers would be heading to Tokyo. They traced the next bomb to there, but I got it removed when I heard. Now they're just going on a wild goose chase."

"That does not answer my question." The voice was growing impatient.

"The Chitauri failed because they hadn't considered all their options or all the consequences. I'm different. I've set it up so that every last threat is dealt with. The Avengers will be too busy with their own deteriorating minds to do me or the cause any harm. That's why I asked James to gather intel. I have all the files on the Avengers. The biggest threat to me would have been Banner and I already delivered the solution to that problem. By the time Banner gets to Tokyo, he'll just be another human. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the monster fully, but I found a way to make it so that he can't call on it. The next threat was Thor," here Olomo laughed. "With my brother's disappearance, Thor will be too busy on getting the nine realms in order. With all the races rebelling, he'll have his hands full; I've made sure of it. But just in case, I have a backup plan. After that it's Rogers and Stark. Rogers was easy. One glance at his file and I had everything I needed. He's probably screaming in his sleep, right now. Stark…that's where it got a little challenging. I watched all the interviews, all the TV appearances. I gathered all the data I could but I couldn't find a place to hit him hard. I thought about kidnapping his secretary but that would have been really messy and not effective. But then upon closer observation and thanks to the Draugs, I found it: Loki. Loki will be Stark's downfall. That's why I asked him to come to Tokyo. Next were the agents from SHIELD. I'm not worried about those two but just in case, I have a plan for them too. No loose ends. It's a flawless plan. Divide and conquer, ever heard of it? Fabulous strategy. All that's left is to wait a week."

The voice was thinking.

"This one chance is all you have. Failure is not an option."

"Of course,"

"And what about the solution?"

"What about it?"

"What are you planning for that?"

"I am saving it as a surprise for the Avengers."

"Don't get carried away,"

"I won't."

"Will I get what I want in the end?" Olomo asked after a moment of silence.

"If you succeed,"

"When I succeed," Olomo argued but he knew that it was no use. The voice was gone. Sighing, Olomo grinned at the shell in his hand, exposing sharp white teeth.

"When I succeed," he whispered as he fisted his hand around the shell. Getting up, he opened his hand and let the tiny fragments fall to the sand. His eyes found the moon and he smiled at it.

"Where have you gone, brother? You're making this too easy for me."

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**A/N: Anyone remember James from Far Too Gone? From when Tony went to SHIELD to fetch Loki? He was the guy at the desk. Just thought I should put that out there.**

**Anyways,**

**How'd you all like it? I really hope that it didn't disappoint. This is only the prologue and the chapters to come will be longer and you know, more actiony and stuff. At least hopefully.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And of course, everyone who favorited & added this to their story alert. **

**and within the realm of this story, Phil never died in the Avengers. **

**And for the time (throughout this fic) where characters are OOC I apologize. **

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**_Abyss Chapter 1_**

"Heimdall?" Loki brought his hand over his eyes so that he could block out some of the light that was shining in his face.

As the bright light faded and his vision cleared, Loki realized that he had recognized the silhouette correctly. A new question formed in his mind.

"What am I doing here?" Loki found himself standing on the Bifrost, a few feet from Heimdall. The guardian stood facing the vast emptiness as always. The last thing Loki remembered was that he had been in the small apartment that he was staying in while he was in Tokyo. He had been lying on his couch, drowning in boredom and trying to call on his magic by drawing shapes in the air. At first nothing had happened but after a while, streams of blue light had begun to emit from his fingers and his drawings stared back at him. His magic was coming back, but he still had a long way to go before he fully recovered.

"It's been a while, Loki." The guardian's voice reached his ears.

"Why am I here?" The god wasn't in the mood for formalities.

"Odin has gone missing and Olomo is growing stronger than ever."

Loki didn't reply only because it would have been useless and a waste of breath. He already knew this. While in Tokyo he had been trying to find information on Olomo.

"He has made it so that Thor can't leave Asgard for even a moment's notice. Race upon race is rebelling and a strange illness plagues the once joyful streets of Asgard. Sense is deteriorating and your brother is caught in the middle of it. He has requested me to contact you and to ask that you take his place in helping the mortals, since he might not be able to fulfill his promise."

"What?" Loki asked in shock. Was Thor in his right mind? A slight prick of worry had jabbed him when the guardian told Loki of Thor's ordeal, but the god of mischief ignored it.

By the look of Heimdall's shaking shoulders, he was laughing.

"Thor informs me that you have redeemed yourself."

"I may have decided to let go of my grudge but that does not mean that I am willing to become Thor's sidekick." Loki said the last word as a drawl. He had decided that whereas he didn't have to be the bad guy, he didn't want to give up on the image of himself that he had built. He liked being the snarky, sarcastic, and sardonic one.

"I shall pass that message along."

Loki's lips twitched upward.

"But," Heimdall continued, causing Loki to inwardly groan. "This time the mortals may not be able to overcome the threat."

For a moment everything froze and the chill that hung in the air seeped into Loki's body. Sucking in a breath, he bit his lower lip, eyes staring into the same emptiness that Heimdall was looking into; except it wasn't empty. Faces, one in particular, stared back at him.

Loki didn't ask why or how Heimdall knew about Tony or why he had been keeping such a close eye on him to know, simply because he was at a loss for words. After a moment of sorting his thoughts, Loki spoke.

"There's nothing I can do. If the mortals can't overcome the threat, that's their problem. Why should I concern myself with them? What have they ever given me?"

Heimdall didn't reply.

"Will your pride be able to deal with the fact that millions will perish? You know not what Olomo is capable of. He will twist your mind and feast on the depths of your sorrow. He'll turn your very soul into what you hate and make you walk the path to your own demise."

"If you know so much, why don't you do something?" Loki was not going to cave in. He couldn't. He would stick to his decision. Getting involved would only hurt him… and those around him, but that was an afterthought.

"I am only the guardian of the Bifrost."

"And I am only a frost giant, a bastard son, a wisp of a person that once was." Tony would probably have smacked him if he ever heard those words from Loki's mouth.

"And you can rise to be more."

"You don't believe that."

"But you have to."

Deciding that he had no more to say, Loki turned on his heel to head back home when he realized he didn't know how. Heimdall couldn't possibly have summoned him through the Bifrost. And if that was the case, how did he arrive at the Bifrost, and more importantly, how was he supposed to get back?

"How did I get here?" Loki turned back around.

Heimdall was laughing again and this time, as the sound of his voice vibrated through the air, everything around Loki began to ripple. As the rippling grew intense, the Bifrost caved in from under Loki's feet and once again he was falling into the black pits that had torn his heart from his body. He was once again falling into the abyss that had consumed his innocence and in turn, his being. That one moment in time came to define him, and Loki was not at all happy with what he had become. Even after Tony's struggle to make Loki see sense, sense was clouded from his view and that wouldn't change. It hurt and as long as it hurt, Loki wouldn't let his walls drop. Claws of the darkness began to wrap themselves around his body and that's when Loki shot up from his sofa. Apparently, he had fallen asleep. Panting, he pushed his hair out of his face and stared out through the window wall. It was still light outside, so he couldn't have been out for long.

Collecting his limbs and getting off the couch, Loki headed towards the window and stood watching and crowds of people went on with their daily lives, unaware of the fact that their life hung on a thin strand of string. Help protect them? What for? What had they ever given to Loki? And anyways, wasn't Loki supposed to be the bad guy in their eyes? Thanks to the last invasion with the Chitauri, Loki was an enemy, not a savior. And anyways, the Avengers would never accept his help. Not like he wanted to help them. And he didn't think that he could bear seeing the confusion and hurt in Tony's eyes, a confusion and hurt that stared back at him every time he looked into a mirror.

'It's not my problem,' Loki told himself as he drew the curtains shut. For the rest of the day, he would be repeating the line to himself, trying to convince himself that it was true.

* * *

"Why can't we have on peaceful day around here," Tony groaned as he rested his head in the palm of his hand. Currently all the Avengers, Fury, and Phil, were once again gathered in one of the SHEILD conference rooms. Fury had called an urgent meeting regarding the Tokyo situation.

"In three days, you all will be heading to Tokyo with Coulson. There, he will drop you off at one of the safe houses that we've set up and he, himself, will return to a location a few miles from city perimeters. Intelligence teams report to us that the threat of a bomb has been taken care of,"

"So then why are we going?" Tony couldn't help but interrupt. He was in a sour mood and a trip to Tokyo to fight some evil guy who was out for revenge wasn't exactly number one on his to-do list. Under the table, Steve nudged him with his foot, a signal that he should take this seriously. Well you know what? He didn't want to.

"Weren't we supposed to go to locate the bomb and remove it? Which, in the first place, I didn't get either. We're not a SWAT team or anything or something of the sort. And now that the threats gone, why are we still going?"

Everyone was sending Tony to yield, to stop talking, and rage was scribbled all over Fury's face.

"Stark, if you do not wish to take part in this mission, you are free to leave. But people's lives are at stake here."

"People's lives are always at stake. Heck, when they cross a road people are risking their lives."

This time Steve kicked him in the shin. Tony would never again sit next to him during a conference.

"The reason why you're still going to Tokyo is that Olomo is planning on turning every citizen in that town into a mutant. He's building up an army and that's where he's beginning."

"How do you know all this?" Tony couldn't resist.

"He hasn't exactly kept his plans a secret," Fury turned to look at Phil, who in turn looked down at his tablet.

"A few weeks ago we got a large parcel from Tokyo. Upon opening it we found that there were two large…" Phil paused and pursed his lips. "Why don't I just show you?" After entering something onto his tablet, Phil held it out as a hologram formed above it.

Sharp intakes of breath were taken by everyone around the table except by Bruce and Tony. What looked like an overgrown hybrid between a lantern fish and a human rotated around the space above the tablet. Just based on the hologram, the creature was around six feet, possibly taller. From where a human's neck is, a large antenna stood out. It curved above the thing's head, and ended at eye level, a light dangling from its end. The fish creature's eyes were large yellow disks, with small black pupils, its skin, or rather scales, tinted blue. Its head resembled a horse's in shape. From its chapped dry mouth (no lips visible) tiny yellow fangs stood out. The only thing that hinted that this was a human was the fact that it had two legs and two arms and stood upright.

"Are those…." Natasha began but could not finish. Fury didn't need to hear her out. He gravely nodded.

"This is what was in that package; two of them." Fury took over. "It's also what Banner has been working on."

All eyes turned to Bruce, who didn't show any sign of movement. His eyes were trained on the hologram.

"Thankfully, he was successful in developing an antidote and once these people recovered we found that they were scientists from the Japanese division of SHEILD."

"You guys have a Japanese division?" Another kick.

Fury ignored him and continued.

"They told us how they were ambushed and sprayed with some sort of formula. They also told us how Olomo had sent them with a message. That message was that what happened to those two scientists was the fate of the whole world starting from Tokyo."

"That's easy then. He's baiting us. Probably has a trap waiting in Tokyo." This time there was no kick.

"We've already thought about that. And yes, probably there is. But we cannot ignore this. The lives of more than a hundred million people are at stake. If Tokyo falls so will the rest of the world." Then as an afterthought, "It was enough that we had extraterrestrial invasions."

"You said that Bruce put together an antidote." Tony finally found a point of interest. Maybe he had underestimated Olomo.

Fury nodded.

"And that's where you come in. The virus that causes mutation is given as an aerosol. The antidote can be either injected or administered as an aerosol. We manag…"

Tony cut Fury off.

"You're not telling us to go there and administer an antidote to every single citizen."

Fury shook his head.

"I want you all to go to Tokyo to shut it down. Remove all citizens from the streets, barricade them in their houses. We've already got officials evacuating people from the city. You're to go there and aid them. If an outbreak of disease does occur then you'll have guns equipped with the antidote."

"What?" a chorus of voices spoke.

"Wait, wait. What makes you think that if we lock these people up, Olomo won't be able to get to them? And…we can't just lock them up in their houses."

"Tony, there is no other way." For the first time Bruce spoke up.

"There has to be. We can't…where are you evacuating these people to?"

"All over Japan and the world." Phil replied.

"Okay, evacuate as many people as you can. We're going there in three days, right? That's plenty of time."

"Not for 127,467,972 people, give or take." Phil replied.

"What?"

"The population of Tokyo,"

"We can't just lock them up."

"If that's what it takes, Tony, we'll have to."

Tony shook his head.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Fury asked.

"How do you know he's not just playing you? Maybe he wants us in Tokyo so that he can strike here."

"Thor warned us that Olomo won't be playing games. It's a challenge. One we can't afford to lose or not answer."

Tony pursed his lips.

"Speaking of Thor, how is he?" Steve changed the subject.

"Not very well. Things are just getting worse up there." Fury didn't offer any more information. "But don't worry; he'll join you in Tokyo. And now that you brought it up, Stark, how is the progress on locating Loki?"

Steve was the only one who noticed how Tony clenched his hand into a fist.

"The progress is that there is no progress. I've been looking for him for three months now and still nothing. He's disappeared."

Fury sighed. Tony sensed another rant coming about how he could have possibly let Loki escape and he braced himself. It didn't come.

"And you still don't think he joined forces with Olomo?"

Tony nodded.

"Three days. That's all you have. Once you get to Tokyo, we won't be able to help you."

And on that cheery note, Fury dismissed them. As he made his way out of the conference room, Tony called after him.

"You think he's some sort of Batman junkie?" Tony said in an attempt to ease the tension that had built up.

By the way Fury was shaking his head, he had heard but had chosen not to reply. The tense air cracked.

"…Batman junkie?" Steve asked, confused.

"Oh gosh, Steve, you're missing out on life. You're coming with me to Stark Tower. Batman movie marathon it is."

Chuckled emitted from around the table as everyone relaxed. Steve was still tense, probably because he didn't know what Batman was.

"What?…Tony, we're going to be dispatched…" Tony cut Steve off.

"In three days. I said that he might be a Batman junkie 'cuz in Batman Begins the villain uses an aerosol spray that causes you to visualize your worst fears or whatever and he sprays it throughout this city, so similar to this situation." By the look on Steve's face he wasn't doing a good job explaining.

"Hey, you owe me for kicking me so much."

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**A/N: I hoped you all enjoyed, because I'm actually content with this chapter. Loki seems a little OOC to me, but yeah, still happy. **

**I actually have no idea whatsoever about where I want to go with this. I mean I know that I have to resolve the whole thing with Loki & Tony and with Olomo plus all the stuff that's going to go down with the Avengers but I only know what to write up to chapter three and after that my mind goes blank *screams and pulls at hair* Oh well, until the next update my fabulous readers. **


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing! You all are really sweet people! **

**So um major stuff in this chapter. This chapter is the building block for all the stuff that's going to go down for the rest of the story. I'm happy with it until it gets to the point where they actually get to Tokyo, from there on it's a little iffy.**

**Everything before the first line break will seem really familiar *cougholomo'splancough* especially if you've read the sequel summary I added to Far Too Gone **

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_**Abyss Chapter 2**_

"Everyone understand?" Phil finished his briefing of the mission with a useless question. Of course everyone understood. This was their fifth time hearing the same speech over again. If it wasn't from Fury, it was from Phil. If it wasn't from Phil it was from one of them repeating the whole thing and asking questions. Tony just about had enough.

The Avengers and Phil were currently on one of SHIELD's sleek jet planes, whizzing through the early dawn sky. The plane was currently cruising over Asia somewhere.

They all had had their homes broken into by SHIELD agents who dragged them out of bed a little before midnight. The clock had a long way to go before it would strike one, when all of them had been tossed onto the plane and had been shipped off into the still dark and clouded sky. Apparently the clouds made for good cover and Fury wanted the Avengers in Tokyo before the sky cleared. They hadn't even given Tony his morning coffee. Maybe that's why he was so on edge and fidgety. Irritation was running rampant through his veins and as much as Tony wanted to rip his hair out and scream, he didn't. Instead he sat on the hard plastic seat of the plane, dressed in his suit, in silence. Not his usual style of dealing with irritation but he wasn't in the mood for conversation. He might have been Tony Stark and he might have had a reputation to live up to, but he was also human.

Truth be told, Tony had shut himself down from the world ever since Loki left. He had believed that he finally found someone who understood. Who was also a close friend of pain's and could sympathize with him. Someone he could rely on when things went terribly bad. Yes, he had Bruce, Steve, and Pepper (all of them fitting the description) but that was_ different_. They weren't….weren't what? Tony asked himself. _They weren't Loki_.

Tony internally groaned and slumped in his seat, leaning against the cold metal wall. Not this again, he thought to no avail. The dreaded thoughts came back. They always did.

You're such an idiot; I can't believe you fell for it. You only spent a few weeks with him, how could you have let your guard down? He probably got bored and decided to play with you and you did exactly as he had wanted. He's the god of lies, for crying out loud. You're a foolish man to believe that mere words could change Loki. He probably left to join Olomo.

Tony shook his head. This is exactly why he needed a constant supple of coffee. The caffeine kept him from thinking and helped him spend the day in a daze. His mouth would work on its own and so would his body, separate beings from his brain. That's the way Tony liked it. Since he couldn't reply on that right now, he settled for listening to Phil's monotonous voice.

"Before we unload you on the roof of the safe house, each of you is going to be handed a special gun," Ugh, not this again. Tony really didn't need to hear this again; he already knew it all. After all, he had helped put the guns together. In the beginning he had been strongly opposed to it but as the days passed and time began to run out, he saw that there was no other option. The guns were equipped with the antidote for the mutation, each one made to meet each Avengers specific need. His could be compacted into a disk so that he could place it where the laser beams in his suit were: in the palms of his hands.

For a while Tony settled for resting his head against the wall, eyes closed with his hands folded in his lap to keep them from twitching. He tried to clear his mind, like Bruce had thought him. Meditation really did help in most cases. In this case, it helped only for a moment before the mumbling in the background known as Phil began to invade his peace. The sound of the plane's engine jarred his senses as did the sound of the fidgeting bodies of his friends. Even the sound of everyone in the plane breathing was getting on his nerves.

_What the hell was wrong with everyone?_

Tony opened his eyes and sighed. He concluded that no matter what he was doing, his brain would never be a safe place to retreat to. He went back to relying on Phil to keep him sane.

"That's about it. Remember even though we won't be with you at the safe houses, we'll be a mile or two from city perimeters and can be reached from any land line in the houses plus the blue-tooth devices. You have three days to clean up. We'll be landing in another hour or so," With that said, Phil turned away from all of them and headed towards the cock pit.

Thank god, Tony sighed. At the moment any place was better than the stuffy plane compartment. He could only imagine what Bruce was feeling. Speaking of Bruce, Tony turned his head to look for him. He found the man sitting on the bench facing him.

Bruce was sitting with his body leaning forward, legs apart with his arms resting on them, hands folded in midair. His eyes were staring at the ground, unfocused; his face tinted a yellowish green. Tony raised an eyebrow as he took in his friend. Bruce didn't have airsickness, so then what? Maybe he was feeling uneasy about the Hulk? Why? Tony would have addressed the matter but he knew that talking about it in front of the team would only bother Bruce more. Tony would corner him later.

Finally he had found something to do. Shifting his gaze from Bruce, Tony moved to his friend's left to find Natasha. She was currently looking at Clint through the corner of her eye, biting on her lower lip, worry written all over her face. Tilting his head questioningly, Tony turned to face Clint. The master archer was sitting with his elbows propped up on his legs, hands rubbing his temples. Migraines, Tony remembered. Clint had been experiencing an increase in them lately. They were terrible for his aim. He recalled Clint telling him that his eyesight would become blurry along with black spots forming in front of his eyes and that his legs would turn to jelly, barely being able to support his weight.

Tony had seen it happen too. Clint would become wobbly, his arms shaking and the arrow missing its target. He sympathized with the man. Tony was all too familiar with migraines and they weren't pleasant. In the beginning he had thought that it was strange that Clint formed such a severe case overnight, but then again he was no doctor. Natasha was probably worried about him. Tony chuckled. So much for love being for children; the words stung when they shouldn't have.

Who next? Tony turned a little in his own seat to face Steve. His posture was sagged against the wall, eyes tightly shut and face ashen white, his mask clutched in his hand. The word "nightmares" registered in Tony's mind. He pursed his lips. Tony had heard the phrase that a person's worst enemy was they themselves, and he had come to believe it. One day he had gone to Steve's house to find the whole place a mess. All the curtains had tears in them and were drawn shut, the TV screen cracked, glass all over the floor, the table broken in half. Worry coursing through his veins, Tony had run to the super soldier's room to find him crammed into a corner. When he had approached Steve, the man had barely been able to string two words together. Tony had taken Steve to Stark Towers, where after he calmed down, Tony found out that the monsters that haunted Steve at night had begun to plague him throughout the day.

And not only that, but Steve thought they were real. Images of Bucky coming back from the dead to extract his revenge (for god knows what), Peggy dying in his arms, the whole world falling to its demise because of one of his follies, drove Steve insane. Thoughts of death and decay had found a home in Steve's brain and the caring captain that Tony knew was becoming bitter. Like Tony, he had shut himself off from the world, only speaking when he had too or when things really got serious. The smile had faded from his face and he had formed a weird perception of the world. In simple words Steve was beginning to lose his faith in humanity, something that Tony had lost a long time ago. But that wasn't the point. The point was that this was Steve. He wasn't supposed to be bitter and cold. After all, he was supposed to be the glue that kept the Avengers together, at least according to the critics. Now why would a superhero team need critics?

What? Tony shook himself. His brain had finally blown a fuse. Sighing, he returned to his original position. Seeing his team mates drowning in their own problems had just made Tony feel worse. Might as well take a nap, he thought.

Thankfully, Tony didn't have nightmares. His demons haunted him when he was fully awake.

* * *

Tony jerked away as the jet came to a sudden stop. His eyelids flew open and he barely had enough time to stop himself from splattering across the floor. Rubbing his head unnecessarily, he turned to look at everyone. They were all facing Phil, stone-faced, awaiting orders.

At least they look better, he thought to himself. When there was a world that needed saving one had no choice but to push their worries to the back of their minds.

"We're here," Phil announced, getting up from his seat and taking out a black leather briefcase that was stored in one of the luggage compartments. For a small jet plane it sure had a lot of accessories.

"No shit, Sherlock," Tony mumbled under his breath, stifling a yawn and getting up to stretch. Seeing him, all the others followed and stood up.

"Phil, have we landed or are we suspended in midair, right now?" Bruce asked, the yellowish green tint returning to his face.

"We've landed on the roof of safe house three,"

"Exactly how many did you set up?" Tony asked.

"Six,"

After stacking the slim silver pistols in his arms, Phil turned to face the Avengers, a sad smile on his face.

"Best of luck," he said to all of them, handing each one their weapon.

"Ugh, don't say it like that. I feel like I'm going to die out there when you say it like that." Tony groaned. He was never one for touchy good byes. Not that this was good bye. They were all going to come back. What condition they were going to come back in though, Tony wasn't sure. His stomach was churning and he didn't like it one bit. There was a stillness in the air as if something big was going to happen.

Phil offered no response other than to twitch his lips into a weak smile.

"Come on guys," Steve said as he received his gun. Placing in into the holster that had been added to his suit, he started to walk down the small ramp way that led to the opening in the jet.

"We'll contact you soon," Natasha turned to Phil and reassured him.

And with that everyone shuffled out of the plane, the silence screeching in their ears.

* * *

After they all got off the plane, the Avengers stood facing the tall buildings that loomed in front of them, the sun shining in their eyes. The sky had cleared up They were standing on the roof of a two story building, none of them knowing what to say. Over the course of a plane ride that lasted a few hours and awkward atmosphere had formed between the team and no one knew why. From behind them they heard the engines of the plane starting and then a roar that meant that the plane had taken off.

"Kind of reminds you of New York, a little, doesn't it?" Tony asked uselessly; no one was going to reply.

"What now?" Clint asked, one hand still rubbing his temples.

"Now we come up with a game plan," Steve replied, eyes still lingering on the buildings.

"Are we supposed to go strutting through the streets in our suits yelling at people to get off the streets?" Tony tried again.

Steve shook his head. "Something's weird," was the response he offered.

"It's quiet….to quiet." Natasha swatted Tony on the arm.

"Just trying to ease the tension," he mumbled, rubbing his arm where he had gotten hit and pouting. In the end he had only needed a breath of fresh air. He was feeling as good as new.

It actually wasn't quiet. The city of Tokyo was alive with the sounds of vendors, cars, and chatter. From where they were, the Avengers could see people moving through the streets, going on with their daily lives.

"It doesn't look like any one was evacuated," Bruce spoke up.

Natasha nodded in agreement.

"SHIELD only managed to evacuate barely one fourth of the people out. They're still working on it, though."

"I still think evacuation is a bad idea," Tony added in his opinion. As was expected, he was ignored.

"So we're going to stand here, waiting for an explosion or something?" The words had barely left Tony's mouth when a loud bang made the ground shake. A chorus of screams sounded throughout the city and car horns went wild. Not far from where they were, a cloud of black smoke began to rise towards the sky.

"Move out," Steve instructed as he put his mask on.

* * *

Loki was in the middle of eating when his whole house began to shake. The loud noise of an explosion was not lost to him.

"And so it begins," He said sighing. Grabbing a tissue from the table, Loki cleaned his hands and getting up from the floor, took his dishes to the sink, dread building up in his stomach.

* * *

**A/N: *insert suspenseful music* **

** The whole getting off the plane thing was terrible but oh well. **


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'M SORRY BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE, OKAY!**

***Ahem***

**Hey guys! Um ... I apologize that it took me a while to update (I blame the fact that when you're fasting, you get really lazy (or at least, I do)) but hey, longest chapter yet!**

**Thanks for all your reviews. Reading them makes my day.**

* * *

_**Abyss Chapter 3**_

Tony stopped his propellers a few yards before he reached the battle field, which was really the square surrounding Tokyo Tower.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath.

On the ground below, creatures that oddly resembled monkeys, except a few times bigger, were roaming the streets. They were also on fire.

No civilians could be seen on the street or on neighboring blocks. A trap? Since the creatures hadn't noticed him yet, Tony took the liberty of hovering over their heads. No portal in sight. Then where had the aliens, Tony assumed they were aliens, come from?

"What's the situation like?" Steve asked through the blue tooth. They had sent Tony forward to access the site.

"Bad; monkeys' on fire roaming the streets," Tony paused in thought. "That sounds like a Broadway play; Monkeys' on fire!" He sang the last part.

"This is not the time to be fooling around. How many? Are there are citizens in sight?" Steve's voice came back to him.

"I didn't count them but by the looks of it around a dozen. Nothing we can't handle. No, no citizens. But … hey, I don't mean to rush you or anything, I know it's a lovely day out and you're probably enjoying your stroll, but, hurry up."

Another minute passed and the rest of the Avengers still hadn't arrived.

"Oh, what the heck." Ignoring what Steve had said about waiting for all of them to arrive, Tony started up the laser in the palm of his hand and shot a line in the street, just to get the attention of the fire creatures.

"Tony, what was that?"

Ignoring Steve, Tony swooped down and placed himself a few feet away from the crowd that the monsters had formed. At the moment he was missing his fire distinguisher machine.

"Hey, everyone! I'm Iron Man; don't know if you know me. Can you speak English? Or do you talk in Japanese? Well, I should be asking, do you talk at all? No? Oh well, then." Tony had no idea what he was doing. Well, he did. He was stalling.

Why did he attract the attention to himself, again? It was completely unnecessary. Not like the creatures had been harming anyone. Speaking of anyone, where were they all? From the safe house the city had seemed normal but now that Tony was actually in the city, he noticed that it really was too quiet. Where had that scream come from?

"Focus," Tony urged himself to pay attention to the situation at hand.

The creatures titled their heads, confused. From somewhere behind Tony, an arrow came whizzing. Tony guessed that it was meant for one of the monkeys but instead it lodged itself into the ground, beeping. Tony had enough time to shoot upward before the thing exploded.

"About time," he spoke into his blue tooth, landing himself on the ground next to the others. "And Clint, darling, we really need to get you an Advil or something."

The smoke cleared revealing that the creatures were unharmed. They hadn't even moved.

"Plan of attack?" Tony addressed Steve.

"We attack," Steve's shield flew out from his hand, lodging itself in the necks of one of primates. The one that had gotten hit screeched and immediately the crowd of them charged at the Avengers.

"You stole my line." Tony grinned as he started the lasers in his suit. Tony watched as Natasha moved forward after quickly saying something to Clint. Bruce was hanging back a few yards from the square. He looked odd, but Tony didn't have the time to dwell on it.

Just as he was about to launch himself into battle, Steve's voice came through his ear piece.

"Get Clint somewhere up high. He may not be up to his usual game but he's still of help. Bruce, now would be a good time to Hulk out."

"Ugh," Groaning, Tony flew over to where Clint was, picked him up by his shoulders, and once again returned to the sky.

"Try not to blow up something or someone important." He said to the archer as he placed him down on a rooftop. Clint nodded, his stance wobbly.

Tony floated in midair for a moment, eyeing the situation. No matter how many times Steve knocked one of the monkeys to the ground, it got right back up.

"Jarvis,"

"I'm on it, sir. Though sir, I suggest that you focus on Mr. Bruce. He seems to be having a little difficulty transforming into the Hulk. It seems that some virus is muffling the cells affected by the gamma radiation; and to answer your earlier command: the stomach area."

"What?" Tony turned his attention over to his good friend only to find him backing away further from the square, his face nauseated.

"Oh gosh," Tony kick started his rockets.

"Clint, aim for their stomachs … that is if you can."

* * *

Bruce felt as if his insides were going to empty themselves on the ground. A wave of dizziness rolled over him and the more he tried to change into the Hulk, the more his body screamed in protest. He watched as his friends, mainly Steve and Natasha, did their best to clobber the enemies to the ground. Clint's arrows were landing feet away from their target and Tony … Bruce had no idea where he was.

"Hey, buddy! What's going on?" Bruce felt a cold metal hand grip him around his shoulder and before he could fully comprehend the situation, he was being lifted up into the air.

"Jarvis says something's wrong with your system … not Hulk type of wrong … well, I guess it is … Jarvis apparently ran a fully body scan on you for some reason that I am not aware of at the moment … he must really like you or something, he doesn't usually do random body scans of people … and he says that some type of virus is wrestling with your cells that were affected by the gamma radiation. In other words, you won't be able to turn into the other guy anytime soon. I shall work with you to solve this problem as soon as I send these monkeys to hell." All of this was said in one breath and during the time it took Tony to fly up to the roof top where Clint was. Placing Bruce down, he headed back towards the ground.

"You're out of commission, too?" Clint threw over his shoulder without diverting his attention from the ground. Letting go of an arrow, he watched with a frustrated face as it missed its target, yet again.

"You can say that," rubbing his arms, Bruce walked up to Clint's side. If anything happened to any one of the Avengers, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Ever since the accident, he had wanted to get rid of the other guy and just when he had begun to come to terms with the fact that the other guy was not an "other" guy but a part of Bruce, this had happened. Was this why he had been feeling sick for the past couple of weeks?

* * *

"Argh," Steve yelped as his right arm caught on fire. With one arm flailing in the air and the other holding his shield, he worked furiously to move the creatures back. A thud alerted him to the fact that Tony had landed besides him. With one laser, Tony sent the three monkeys that had cornered Steve, flying back.

"You took your time," Steve breathed, as he prepared himself for yet another round.

"Who's the one that put me on babysitting duty? Aim for their stomachs, that's their weak spot." With that said, Tony hurled himself at one of the primates that was making its way towards the two. Steve, on the other hand, waited until one of the monkeys jumped on him, before falling back and kicking the monkey in its stomach, sending it flying up through the atmosphere.

"You sure got a mean kick," the move was not lost on Tony.

"Where's Bruce?"

"He's having some technical difficulties."

"This would be so much easier with him and Clint." Another monkey was knocked out senseless by Steve's shield, Tony coming to shoot a beam through its stomach.

"And Thor," Tony added. Steve nodded in reply.

"Natasha, how's the situation?" Cap spoke through his blue tooth, spinning his shield in his hand and eyeing the line of creatures running towards him, one behind the other. Sending his shield flying, Steve watched in joy as it nailed the first one in its stomach and sent the rest flying backwards into various structures such as nearby buildings, lampposts, and the street.

"I thought Tony said there were only a dozen," Natasha's voice came back through their earpieces.

"I said around," Tony replied as he tried to untangle from one of the monkeys that had jumped on him.

"This is nowhere around a dozen,"

"Geez, woman; it was a miscalculation."

* * *

"Remind me to ask Fury for non-flammable outfits when we get back," Natasha said as she elbowed one of the primates that had flung itself at her. Her suit was scorched but at least she hadn't caught on fire … yet.

"Roger that," Tony replied through the blue tooth. Grinning, Natasha took her guns out from her belt. Kneeling on the ground to get a better view of the creatures running towards her, she pulled the triggers, hoping that it would work.

Thankfully, somewhere between the flames, the fire-monkeys had some flesh to them. The bullets lodged themselves into their bellies and the creatures dropped dead.

* * *

"Let go!" Tony grunted as he placed his hands around the monkey that was so tightly gripping the sides of his mask. Kick starting his rockets, Tony flew up into the air hoping that due to the temperature, the flames on the creature would burn out and that it would loosen its grip. For such a tiny thing, the monkey sure had a strong hold.

Half way through the Troposphere, the creature finally turned to ice. Tony let go of its sides and watched it fall to the ground. Content with his work, he shot back to the ground, only to stop once again.

A few blocks from where the Avengers were currently fighting off the beasts, a portal had opened and swarm upon swarm of the fire-monkeys was coming out of it.

"Damn," Tony mumbled under his breath. Then into his earpiece,

"It's a portal. That's why there more than a dozen now. Someone opened a portal."

"What?" a chorus of voices vibrated through Tony's mask.

"Find out where it's coming from," Steve instructed.

"Jarvis," Tony transferred the command onto his computer butler.

"I'm on it, sir."

Tony flew back to the ground to rejoin the fight. This was going to take a while.

* * *

Natasha grunted as one of the monkeys bit her on her left arm. Trying to shake it off, she used her spare hand to shoot at the other primates, trying to keep them away.

She couldn't even shoot at the one that had bit her arm since it had wrapped itself around the left side of her body.

Using her right hand, she pocketed the gun in its holster. Reaching out, she grabbed the thing by its head, ignoring the flames. Prying it from her body, she launched it into the air and using her now free left hand, quickly took out her gun and shot at it. Her right hand was badly burned but Natasha ignored the sting.

During this process, two more monkeys had wrapped themselves around her legs.

Natasha tried to take a step forward, but ended up falling back, the monsters crawling up on her.

An arrow landed on the ground next to her, its beeping increasing by the second. Using her legs to kick the monsters up in the air, she rolled over on her back and got up on her feet, trying to get as far away from the arrow as possible. She had managed to run a few feet away from the arrow before it exploded.

"Clint, I appreciate the help, but please, I think it's best to keep your arrows to yourself this time." Natasha hated herself for saying it but at the moment Clint was doing more harm than good. She knew how hard it must be for the archer, knowing that he couldn't help out, but it had to be said.

Taking a moment, Natasha accessed her situation. Her right hand was badly burned, and her legs were also burned. Not as serious as her hand, but still pretty bad. Her left arm, where the monkey had bit her, had swelled up and was throbbing. The left side of her body was also stinging with minor burns. A few more run-ins and she wouldn't be able to go on.

Gritting her teeth, Natasha used her fine hand to take out her gun. She had to go on until Tony found out where the portal had opened from and how to shut it down.

As the smoke cleared, Natasha's eyes scanned the distance for any more of the fiery primates.

She heard a screech from behind her and turned around to find that one of the monkeys had jumped up and unsheathed its fiery claws, aiming for her face. She knew that it was probably too late to move out of the way and that if she fired her gun, it would probably miss its target.

But she still tried.

The bullet did miss by a few inches. Yet, it turned out that some strange forced was on Natasha's side.

The monkey froze in air, surrounded by a block of ice, and fell to the ground, shattering into a million tiny pieces. A hand grabbed her arm and she turned around, startled.

"Lo…" she barely had enough time to get the name out before she was thrown into a swirling darkness.

* * *

As the darkness disappeared, Natasha found herself on the same roof as Bruce and Clint.

"Stay," Loki instructed her before disappearing.

"What was that about?" Clint asked.

"I don't know…" Natasha was just as confused as everyone else. She was still staring at the spot where Loki had disappeared.

"What happened to your arms?" Natasha turned her head over to Clint to find that he had deposited his bow on the ground, and was rushing over to her.

* * *

"Jarvis, any time would be good now." Tony spoke through gritted teeth as he shot a laser through another swarm of monkeys.

He was exhausted.

"I apologize, sir, but I can't seem to locate the origin of the portal,"

"God damn," Just as Tony was about to move out of the way of the group of monkeys that had flung themselves at him, they all turned to ice and fell to the ground, shattering.

Tony's heart stopped.

"Get to the roof," he heard someone call to him from behind.

No, no, no, no! It couldn't be. Not here. Not now.

Why did it have to be now of all times? Why was he here? Did he really leave to come here? Was it because of Olomo?

Why?

Cursing his fate, Tony quickly turned around, only to see the folds of Loki's robes shimmering in the light and then disappearing.

What roof? Tony was only familiar with two roofs in Tokyo; the one where they landed and the one where Bruce and Clint were.

Maybe it had been his imagination.

Starting up his rockets, Tony flew up into the air. Or maybe it really had been Loki.

* * *

Steve was pissed and exhausted. The two feelings didn't mix well.

He unleashed all his anger out through his arm, sending his shield flying into the primates that were making their way towards him. The monkeys went soaring into a nearby building, his shield clattering to the ground. Breathing heavily, Steve looked both ways to make sure that the coast was clear and began to walk towards where his shield had landed.

"Did you manage to close the portal, Tony?" he spoke through his blue tooth.

When Tony didn't reply, he began to worry.

When he saw Loki appear next to his shield to pick it up, Steve stopped walking, one foot in midair.

"What's he doing here?" Again, there was no reply.

In the blink of an eye, Loki appeared next to Steve, just as another battle cry pierced the air. Grabbing onto Steve's arm, Loki transported them both back to the roof.

* * *

Tony stood next to Bruce, his mask pulled up, his posture stiff. Clint was fussing over Natasha's wounds and she was reassuring him that she was fine. By the looks of the burn, she wasn't. She had to get medication for the burns soon or they would cause an infection, but Tony couldn't bring himself to worry about her. He hated himself for it.

The four of them stood waiting. For what, they didn't know.

Another minute passed and the air surrounding the middle of the rooftop began to ripple.

Tony immediately straightened up, eyes taking in the air that was fast becoming Loki.

When their form solidified, Steve pulled himself away from the god.

"What are you doing here?"

Loki ignored him, staring directly at Tony, instead.

"If we stay here, the Aysh creatures will keep coming. They've surrounded all your safe house locations."

A lump had formed in Tony's throat and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't hold Loki's intense gaze. Looking away, he stared off into the horizon.

"Why should we trust you? What guarantee do we have that this isn't a trap?"

"Sir," Jarvis' voice reached Tony though the earpiece.

"What is it?" Tony spoke, his voice unwavering. He couldn't show just how screwed up he was on the inside. He couldn't let Loki see the battle that was going on in Tony's head.

"A massive wave of energy is coming from the portal. I still haven't been able to locate its source but I suggest that you leave your current position and fast. I also took the liberty to check the areas surrounding the safe houses, and Loki is indeed correct."

Tony forced himself to turn his head back. Instead of staring at Loki, he looked at the side of Steve's head.

"There's a massive wave of energy coming through the portal soon. We have to get leave. Now. Jarvis checked the safe house locations. All of them are surrounded."

"Where could Loki take us that would be safe?" Steve was still not giving in.

"Natasha's badly injured. Bruce can't hulk out. My aim is screwed up. That only leaves you and Tony to fight whatever's coming out of that portal." Clint sided with Tony.

Even Bruce showed his support by nodding.

"We're outnumbered and outmatched. We need to think things through." He reasoned.

Another moment passed.

"Steve…" Tony said as a warning, as the seconds ticked by.

"Fine," defeat was evident in Steve's posture.

Tony merely blinked, but when he opened his eyes, he was being swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: ****I apologize for the fact that this chapter is kind of shitty. I suck at action scenes but I'm trying!**

*******evil laugh* Tony and Loki finally met! What's going to happen next?**

****** Even I don't know. Haven't really thought this story through. **


	5. Chapter 4

Abyss Chapter 4

As the darkness faded, Tony came to realize that he was sprawled on something hard. When the dark spots in front of his eyes cleared away, he realized that that something hard was Bruce. Currently, Tony's legs were piled on Bruce's chest and his head lay next to Bruce's right leg, slightly hanging off the beige sofa that they were dumped on. Someone's foot was resting on Tony's neck and by the look of the boot, the foot belonged to Steve. Around him, the Avengers were groaning, everyone finally coming to their senses.

Tony quickly pushed Steve's foot aside and straightened up. His eyes took in the sight of Clint and Natasha who had been dumped on the couch opposite from them. The two untangled their limbs, Clint helping Natasha straighten up since she couldn't use her burned hands. Tony's eyes moved onto his left where Steve was. The man's head was resting on the arm rest of the sofa, one leg dangling off and the other resting on the top of the sofa where Tony had pushed it aside. To his right, Bruce seemed to have landed in the most normal position; his head also on the sofa's arm rest, his body laid straight out.

Looking up, Tony turned his head to look around the room. He wasn't able to find the one person he was looking for. The suit becoming suffocating, Tony opened up a little door in the right arm of his suit and pressing the little button, waiting for his suit to transform itself into a disk. When Tony needed his suit again all he had to do was place the disk around his arc reactor and the suit would begin to materialize … he had spent a lot of time in his lab after Loki had left.

"Here, this will help," the familiar melodic voice reached Tony's ears.

Turning his head towards the kitchen, he saw the god walk out with a first aid kit and a bottle of Advil in his hands. The lump in Tony's throat was back, question after question racing through his mind.

"Where are we?" Steve groaned as he straightened himself up into a sitting position next to Tony.

"I think we're at Loki's house," Bruce mumbled as he followed Steve's lead.

Tony watched as Clint skeptically eyed the first-aid kit and the bottle of medicine.

"What can I possibly have done?" Loki said when he noticed that Clint wasn't going to take the kit from his hands. Throwing it and the bottle of Advil on the sofa next to Natasha, he turned around about to leave the room.

It took them a moment, but the Avengers finally realized the situation they were in.

Steve jumped up from the couch and sprinting forward a step, pinned Loki to a wall, holding him by his shirt's collar.

"What are you up to," he growled under his breath.

If anyone was shocked at Steve's unnatural display of violence, they didn't show it. They all knew that when things got serious, so did Steve. And anyways, they were all wondering about the same question.

"If you want, I can teleport you all back to the square where you can resume fighting to your heart's content." Loki smirked at Cap, who only pushed him up against the wall harder.

"Answer my question,"

"What am I doing here in the apartment? In Tokyo? On the world? Can you specify which one you're questioning about?"

Tony tried to fight down his grin. Loki's voice was getting to his head and every movement that the god made, his eyes ate up. His stomach has returned to doing three sixties, and Tony felt as if his entire being was about to burst. He was sure he was the only one who felt this way, since the god was showing no signs of acknowledging Tony. What the man wanted to do was lock himself and the god up in a room and talk things through. He wanted answers, but he knew that that would have to wait. As for now, Tony wanted to rid himself of the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Don't play with me." Steve pressed Loki harder up against the wall, holding him high up so that the god's feet weren't touching the ground.

"Let him go, Steve," surprisingly, the one who had spoken was Bruce. Clint and Natasha were listening in on the conversation, but had occupied themselves with taking care of Natasha's wounds.

"He's the enemy, Bruce," Steve shot back.

"Pinning him against a wall won't do anything. We're wasting precious time and getting nowhere. And anyways, he saved us."

Steve held his grip on Loki for a few more minutes before relaxing and letting the god go. Moving a few steps back, he glared at Loki.

"Answers," was all he said.

Rubbing his neck, Loki spoke.

"What am I doing in this apartment? I live here. In Tokyo? I got a letter from my dear uncle asking me to come here. On the world? I, myself, don't know the answer to that, yet." Loki decided that it was best not to keep anything hidden from the Avengers, lest he be attacked again.

Steve began to move in on Loki as soon as he had said "dear uncle."

"But, I am not accompanying my uncle on his endeavors." Loki added, pressing himself against the wall, trying to maintain distance between himself and Cap, as Steve got closer.

"You said your dear uncle asked you to come here,"

"He did but that does not mean that I joined his league. I simply came to see what he wanted from me. If I was working with him, why would I have saved you?"

"He has a point, Steve," this time it was Natasha who had spoken.

"How do we know this is not part of your plan or something," Steve was unmoved.

"As I said before, I can take you back to the square if you don't wish to stay here. Or, better yet, walk right out into the alien infested streets."

Deciding that he needed to move, Tony got up and headed towards the window wall. Pulling the curtains slightly open, he looked down at the street below.

Sure enough, the fire monkeys were prowling the streets.

"I think we should stay, Steve. At least until we figure out what to do."

"Those things out there are all the more reason to leave! There are citizens out there!"

"There are not any citizens out there, actually," Loki injected.

"What type of bull shit is that? We saw people without own eyes." Clint finally tore his eyes away from Natasha's now bandaged arms.

"On the outskirts of the city; when you came in, did you see anyone?"

"We heard a scream." Steve supplied.

"Did you see any people in the square?"

None of the Avengers had a comeback.

"What could have happened to them? SHIELD only mana …"

Loki cut Natasha off.

"Those who were saved by SHIELD were lucky. The rest were rounded up by Olomo's lackeys."

"Lackeys? Rounded up? For what? How come you're still here?" Clint shot out one question after the other.

"Yes, lackeys, and I don't necessarily mean humans by that. Rounded up for his army and ..." Loki paused. "It seems that my uncle has something special planned for me," he finished after a moment of silence.

Suddenly, Clint groaned. Clutching his stomach, he leaned forward, his face nauseous.

"I think … we can trust … him, for now." He moaned.

Steve's armor fell and he rushed over to Clint.

"What's wrong?" He asked, kneeling down next to him and placing a hand on the archer's back.

"He needs to rest," Bruce and Loki replied at the same time.

Natasha pursed her lips.

"If you plan on keeping us here, I assume you have rooms ready?" She asked the god.

Loki grinned.

"Right this way," he said.

Placing Clint's arm around her shoulders and picking him up, Natasha followed Loki out the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony muttered. How had the Avengers fallen apart so fast?

"I'm going to go call Phil," Steve informed everyone as he too, left the room.

"Tony, you probably don't have a portable lab, do you?" Bruce joked, bringing Tony out of his daze. In the few short minutes that had passed, Tony had forgotten about Bruce's issue.

"No … but my suit has a communicator in it to reach Jarvis. If you find me a screw driver, I'll remove it for you. Once Jarvis runs body scans we can find out more about this virus and then fix you up."

"I guess there's not much we can do right now."

"Hm … if Steve can get in contact with Phil, I'm sure we can arrange something with him."

"Yeah," Bruce didn't sound too hopeful. Turning away from the window, Tony looked at his friend. He understood the pain that Bruce must have been experiencing, the agony of seeing the rest of the Avengers fighting while he stood helplessly on the sidelines. Tony also knew that if something went wrong on this mission, Bruce would take all the blame.

"Why don't you go check up on Clint?" He tried to change the subject. "He looks like he could use a doctor. And even though he patched up Natasha's wounds, check up on her, too."

"You're right ... at least I can be useful in some way." Tony's already trampled on heart deflated a little more.

With that, Bruce went off to look for the two agents.

Sighing, Tony turned back to the window and pulled the curtains shut, dread filling his stomach. The Avengers were in a bigger mess than they had imagined.

"Such a worried face doesn't suit you." Tony didn't have to turn around to know who it was. The words stabbed him in the heart and he wondered if the god was going through the same things in his head as Tony was.

Tony didn't want to know why Loki had left. Deep down, he already knew.

What Tony did want to know was how exactly were they supposed to mend the huge gaps in their chests? How were they suppose to over come the wall that had build up between them? What were the stakes?

Even as these questions whizzed through his head, Tony avoided the real question.

Was it even possible? Was it worth it?

Tony could say the words to an empty room but now, reality having caught up to him, he was at a loss for words.

After having lost faith in the term, could they avoid the clutches of their pasts and their surroundings and survive?

Were they willing to take the fall?

_Tony Stark was scared._

Scared that if he said yes, his already deteriorating world would crumble.

Scared that if he said yes, he would not only be hurting himself but everyone around him.

Scared that his answer would be no.

Scared that if he did say no, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

What mattered more to Tony?

His life and his "happiness" or the cost that his "happiness" would come at. What about the betrayal that his friends would feel?

The answer was quite obvious.


End file.
